


Exercise 2: Communication

by Grimme



Series: One Step At A Time [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: College, Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 06:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10938960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grimme/pseuds/Grimme
Summary: Kuroo and Tsukishima are in a long-term relationship. Kuroo works and Tsukishima is in college. Things aren't always easy, but they work through them, together. A day in the life of an ordinary couple in an ordinary world.





	Exercise 2: Communication

His feet are aching from the new shoes bought specifically for the event – a company dinner. Sort-of. It was more of a formality than a celebration, and frankly, he could think of better things to do on a Friday night. 

“I’m home~” Kuroo chimes loudly as he kicks off said dress shoes quite happily, undoing his tie urgently while a hand runs through his hair out of habit. Shifting uncomfortably in the stuffy clothes, it turns out that summer is a terrible season to be decked out in formal attire - his other hand tugs the socks off his feet backwards as he scrunches up his nose at the terrible smell that emanates from them. 

A non-committable sound of approval travels across the living room and Kuroo gleefully shuffles his way into Tsukishima’s bedroom, knocking before he cracks the door open slightly to a low light shining from the younger man’s wide screen, from where he is seated upwards on the bed.

“I told you not to work in the dark, didn’t I?” Kuroo flicks the light on with his thumb. Tsukishima doesn’t really react, but he does squint slightly while continuing to type away furiously at his laptop, brows lightly pulled together. 

“Lazy.” 

“That, you are.” Kuroo sticks his head back out and walks towards the opposite door, pushing it open and grabbing the AC’s remote control, a quiet beep indicating that it was now on. He shucks the blazer off, undoing only the first two buttons of before wriggling out of the sweaty shirt, moving to stand directly in the way of the cool air, his eyes falling shut at the feeling of what winter felt like on bare skin.

“You’re going to get sick, and then we’re both going to get sick.” Tsukishima’s voice is quiet and low as Kuroo feels some sort of fabric hit him in the face. It’s a sweater, of course. Tsukishima’s because despite sharing the same shirt size, Kuroo’s entire range of colours gravitated across powerful, dark shades of red, black and occasionally, blue. Tsukishima on the other hand, preferred wearing neutral tones of green, orange, or brown. 

Either way, they didn’t care that much at home. Tsukishima’s clothes were often loose, given his preference for clothes that didn’t cling onto him like a second skin. This fit in pretty damn well with Kuroo, who simply wore anything he could find laying around that didn’t smell bad – when they’d just moved in with each other, it was a lot harder, since whenever Kuroo wore one of Tsukishima’s clothes, he’d complain that it’d been stretched out, and he needed a new pair of whatevers so he didn’t look like a hobo living out on the streets. 

Now, two years later, things have calmed down a lot more.

Oddly enough, he did miss the ‘stupid’, and ‘dumbass’. He remembered when he belonged to one of the many whom Tsukishima Kei referred to as ‘annoying assholes’, and yes, of course he appreciated that at boyfriend achievement level, he was now called his actual name instead of something else, and he was probably crazy for thinking this, but Kuroo Tetsurou got occasionally envious that his lover gave other people names, yet very uncreatively called him ‘Tetsurou’. 

Now, back to reality.

“Is Kei-chan worried about me?” Kuroo happily followed Tsukishima, both their doors now opened to allow better ventilation of the chilly air around the small apartment.  
“No, it’s just my final presentation next week and I can’t afford getting sick because half my group mates have brains made from bird shit.” 

He was making tea, noiselessly. But Kuroo knew better than that – six years of knowing Tsukishima and three years of dating him taught him when was a good time to approach him for anything, and when were the times where he ought to sleep over at Bokuto’s home. 

Actually, correction - he’d learned quite early on that no matter the situation, leaving Tsukishima Kei alone in the house for extended periods of time after a bad fight turned out to be a terrible decision. 

Their first serious fight had Kuroo sleeping over at Bokuto’s for three nights after he’d stormed out in a rage, and when he’d gotten back, his clothes had been packed neatly into a luggage outside his room with Tsukishima seemingly blissfully oblivious to the shock that that had been smacked onto Kuroo’s face. 

“I thought I was going to have to mail these to Bokuto-san’s place and give up the place since rental would be costly by myself.” Things hadn’t been easy for a month from there and frankly, he couldn’t even remember what they were arguing about, although it vaguely seemed to be something regarding work. 

They’d both been childish and stupid young boys trying to navigate the unfamiliar feeling of hurt that they could neither make heads or tails of – and they’d changed very much from then. Thankfully. 

The first line of action both of them took was to sit down, and to talk things through. 

Tsukishima would stop trying to convince Kuroo with warped logic, and Kuroo would stop trying to pretend everything was fine by utilising his admittedly sharp sense of humour. It wasn’t easy – hell, they’d called each other out over and over and over again for using the same tricks until they were stripped bare of anything but raw emotions.  
Then, they communicated. 

Unsurprisingly, things got increasingly simpler from there. 

“Make a cup for me too.”

“You think I haven’t already?” Kei answers, or rather, deadpans. But Kuroo knows it’s a joke more than anything and he trots over to the slightly taller man and drops his head onto the narrow shoulders. 

“Mahh, I don’t know, you’re mean to me sometimes.” 

“Sure.”

“Mm.”

They lapse into a comfortable period of silence and a good ten minutes later finds the couple on the couch, Kuroo watching Game of Thrones on the lowest possible volume and Tsukishima is typing away again at the laptop. The living room lights are dimmed and the air conditioning in both of their rooms have been turned off, replaced with the windows to their right being left wide open, a cool breeze blowing in. 

“Remind me again, why aren’t we turning the air conditioning on? It’s the electricity-saving type, right? Shouldn’t cost too much.”

“You smell like sweat, it’s gross.” 

“Yet here you are.” Kuroo looks over, smiling sleazily, though his intentions are really nothing but – Tsukishima has a major presentation tomorrow, sex can wait till they’re both in the proper physical and mental state to go about those activities. Tsukishima doesn’t answer him.

“You’re not sleeping tonight?” 

“Mmh.”

Kuroo wants to tell Tsukishima it’s not healthy to have his body going for more than 24 hours without sleep, but he knows the stress of assignment deadlines and bad project group mates. He’s been there - walking out of the house with 5 minute of sleep and throwing up right as he steps out of the bus purely because of how nauseous he feels. Nowadays, he’s luckier given that he works a 9 to 5 job and although he does have to bring his work home sometimes, it’s nothing he can’t manage. 

He spots dark circles under Tsukishima’s eyes and leans in to kiss him lightly on his cheek. Tsukishima doesn’t dodge away like before, when he was unused to physical affection. He hums a quiet sound of approval and Tsukishima stretches his legs out when the seat opposite him becomes available. 

At 7 in the morning, Kuroo Tetsurou will wake up to Tsukishima still seated in the same position, still smashing away at his keyboard, and he will tell Kei to sleep, to which he would receive a weak glare for. However, Tsukishima Kei does sleep while Kuroo starts the rice cooker and takes out the leftover dinner from the night before – saba fish and miso soup. It’ll be 7:30 when both of them are seated across each other, having breakfast, and Tsukishima will try to look awake even though all he wants to do is to collapse into the couch again, and Kuroo will laugh as his boyfriend attempts to look as if he has his shit together. 

It’ll be 8 when Tsukishima leaves for school, and Kuroo will call him an Uber to which he would receive another glare for, albeit accompanied by a quiet ‘thank you’ this time. Before he leaves for his own work, he’ll make sure to start the rice cooker, and he’ll prepare a pack of Japanese curry which he knows can be instantly consumed once Kei’s home, and he leaves a note on, shutting the door behind him.

It is 6 in the evening when he does come home carrying slack shoulders and his eyes homebound, and it’s with a small box of strawberry shortcake in hand as he kicks his shoes off again. The house is quiet, and from within the darkness, Kuroo can see Kei’s silhouette on the couch, breathing, up, and down, and up, again. 

He checks the refrigerator and is pleased to find his pre-made lunch for Tsukishima already gone. Kei is snoring softly in the warm light of the setting sun and Kuroo proceeds to throw his balled socks into the washing machine. 

Then, he walks towards Tsukishima, who rudely awakens to the smell of pungent socks in his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for deciding to read this despite the many unaddressed flaws! I appreciate kudos and comments very much and whilst I understand this is nothing to boast about, I do hope you've enjoyed reading this! My personal tumblr is abcdefghiwillkillyourfamily.tumblr.com if you're like to talk to me! Have a good day :D


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